Panama canal expansion will overload us infrastructure now-modernization is key to sustain trade and the economy



Download 0.58 Mb.
Page12/16
Date28.01.2017
Size0.58 Mb.
#8993
1   ...   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16

AT: Disads




AT: Environment DA

Dredging is the safest method for excavation – your authors are misinformed


Jones, GPAA Editor/Content Director, 2012

(Brad, ,The science — and politics — of dredging”, 7-28 http://www.goldprospectors.org/Communication/ArticlesandInformation/tabid/153/EntryId/537/Dredging-doesn-t-harm-fish-experts-say.aspx, DOA: 7-13-12)


Greene was environmentally conscious back then and still is today. He remembers being especially concerned about high levels of phosphorous in laundry detergent that were causing large algae blooms and turning some affected rivers “pea soup green.” He even belonged to the Sierra Club. “I was a good environmentalist,” he said. When he first heard claims that suction dredging was harmful to fish, he was disappointed, realizing that to stay in good conscience he may be faced with giving up his gold prospecting hobby. To be sure, he began to study the facts about suction dredging’s effects on the environment and eventually found the activist’s claims to be unsubstantiated. Even though he had bought into the environmentalist school of thought, he began to question the science. The more he learned about activists and their agenda, the more he began backing away from them. “There are a lot of people who actually believe that mankind does not belong out in nature; that it’s only for the wildlife. There is some blend of all this weirdness. And, the worst part is we have millions of good-hearted, honest, concerned citizens who — I don’t want to call them lazy — but who are misinformed ... They are trusting these environmental organizations and they are being bamboozled by a bunch of thieves,” Greene said. If the conclusion of his study had found that suction dredging was harmful, which it didn’t, he said he would not have continued dredging. “In my own case, I wouldn’t be a miner,” he said. Since then, he has tried to convince others in the scientific community that much of the so-called science behind some of the activists’ claims is flawed or simply doesn’t exist. But, Greene said most scientists are apathetic to his concerns. “I have all sorts of friends who are scientists and they don’t care; If you hired them as a consultant they would,” Greene said. “Suction dredge mining in waters is the most environmentally safe, best method of mining. The most common myth is that suction dredging harms the environment. Even some miners don’t believe that suction dredging benefits fish. They are just as brainwashed. I’ve heard miners say it. It’s frustrating to me. The old saying about a lie told often enough becomes the truth is exactly what’s been happening to us in small-scale mining,” he said.

Impact is short term and reversible


Environmental Solutions 2002

(“Environmental Impact Assessment PROPOSED DREDGING WORKS AT WEST HARBOUR, PORT ANTONIO, JAMAICA”, July, http://www.nrca.org/eias/ptantonio/FinalReport_PtAntonio_Dredging.pdf, DOA: 7-13-12)


Dredging of the deep rocky ledge along the north side of the approach channel at Site H1 will result in the short-term irreversible loss of the existing coral communities living on the affected area. It should be borne in mind that at least 50 % of the 2,600m² reef area is presently comprised of dead individuals. The potentially negative impacts on the associated fish species are thought to be less severe given that that there are adequate reef and sea grass bed ecosystems within less than a 1 km radius of the site to which they may retreat. Over time, recruits of the same coral species are likely to recolonise the fresh rock face of the now deepened plateau and a similar new reef ecosystem would become established. Thus, the immediate negative impact of deepening the approach channel would be reversed over the long-term period (say 10 to 30 years). The reef community and sea grasses living on the slope above 7m should not be directly affected. The predominantly fast 0.232 m/s southwestward current in the channel, which maintains excellent water clarity in this section of the channel, is expected to promote rapid sediment transport of turbid waters away from the immediate area and into the channel. This will tend to reduce the time period over which undisturbed coral and sea grass species would have to endure deteriorated water clarity.

Dredging improves fish habitats


Jones, GPAA Editor/Content Director, 12

(Brad, ,The science — and politics — of dredging”, 7-28 http://www.goldprospectors.org/Communication/ArticlesandInformation/tabid/153/EntryId/537/Dredging-doesn-t-harm-fish-experts-say.aspx, DOA: 7-13-12)


Suction dredge mining does not harm fish and can actually improve fish habitat, scientists say. Claudia Wise and Joseph Greene, worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for more than 30 years. Wise is a retired physical scientist and Greene is a retired research biologist. Both scientists have done extensive research on the issue and cannot find any evidence to substantiate claims made by environmental activists that suction dredging harms fish or fish habitat. They say suction dredging can benefit salmon and other species of fish by improving habitat in rivers and streams. The science of dredging “Any negative effects of suction dredging on fish or fish habitat are insignificant. The benefits definitely outweigh any of the negative effects in any of the studies I’ve ever seen,” Wise said in recent interview. In almost every study, the environmental impact of suction dredge mining on fish — including salmon — and fish habitat has been proven to be “less than significant,” Greene said. Dredging improves fish habitat by creating pockets in the bottoms of riverbeds and streambeds. These depressions are ideal places for fish, especially salmon, to spawn when there are limited natural areas of loose gravel, called refugia. “It’s a pool of water within the river you might say. If it is three feet deep, it’s considered refugia, which is a depression in the river bottom that is under the main currents where fish prefer to rest in cooler water, lots of times at the mouth of a tributary,” she said. “There are so many benefits to it,” said Wise, explaining that the gravels in many rivers and streams have become so compacted over the years that the fish cannot always find a natural place to spawn. Because suction dredgers break up or loosen the gravels and create small pockets in the bottoms of streams, it often creates manmade refugia, where none had previously existed. While opponents of suction dredging argue that fresh dredge tailings (gravels), are not as stable as natural gravel beds, they are better than nothing where natural gravels don’t exist, Wise said. “However, the salmon are smart enough to recognize the difference between natural and manmade refugia,” Greene said. If there is no suitable place to spawn, the fish will spawn anyway. “The eggs will just be floating down river and be eaten by any predator that would eat them. They have to get through the gravel to build that nest.” he said. After dredge tailings have settled for a year, they become more stable and more attractive to salmon. “By the next year, you’ve got great spawning gravel,” Wise said. So, adding more refugia means salmon have more places to spawn which helps to increase salmon populations. Even one redd (nest of salmon eggs) can contain thousands of salmon eggs, she said.



Download 0.58 Mb.

Share with your friends:
1   ...   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16



The database is protected by copyright ©ininet.org 2024
send message
    Main page
panama canal
right places